AP Art: Sketchbook Project Day

This year the AP Art class collaborated with the National Art Honor Society to create a Sketchbook Project and today they will be delivered to the Brooklyn Art Library in Williamsburg where it will become part of one of the largest collections of sketchbooks in the world.

The theme of our sketchbook is Great Doubts and Massive Victories and above are a few featured examples of artwork from the sketchbook from: Mr. Needles, Rosalie, Mikenzie, and Jamie.  The book can be viewed at the library at any time so if you find yourself in Brooklyn go by and check it out!

Digital Media: 36 Days of Type

In Digital Media class we will be working on the 36 Days of Type project in which we will design a unique and creative letterform each day (calendar is listed above) and photograph them to share and use in a font set later in May.

We will learn about typography and design throughout the 36 days spending some time each Monday learning new aspects.  Each student should keep their letter designs cataloged in their Google drive which they can share each 12 days for a grade and again when the project is concluded for a grade.

Here's a link to a few basics from Creative Live's blog which gives some insight on hand lettering but you are free to work digitally as well or of course use both in conjunction. You can share your designs on social media using the hashtag #36daysoftype and #36days_(Letter or Number). Below are a few examples:

Started the @36daysoftype font #design challenge today with a drippy A- join in & get #creative! #36daysoftype https://t.co/90LxcNYA1R

— Tim Needles (@timneedles) March 29, 2016

Digital Media: Creating Apps For Art

Now that we have a better concept of coding and learned the basics lets look more specificlly at Apps for Art.  We will begin by looking at a case study from Oakland, CA based artist Franky Aguilar who created a series of art apps that have been successful and popular.

The Met Breuer

The Met Breuer is a new extension of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art that recently opened up in NYC and it's premiere exhibit is on unfinished works and their insight into the process.  The video above gives a quick look at the show which features work from artists such as  Rembrandt, Turner, Cézanne, Jackson Pollock, and Robert Rauschenberg.

AP Art: Extra Credit: De-File Your Taxes

Our AP Art: Extra Credit for this month again comes from WNYC's Studio 360 and their De-File Your Taxes competition.  It asks that you create art based on tax forms so it allows for great creativity.  The work show be uploaded and shared on social media by April 3.  You can use this link to the IRS 1040 form and think out of the box!

AP Art: 2016 Senior Art Show 3 Rosalie

The third AP Art senior solo art show is by Rosalie who wowed audiences with her photography and creative presentation.  She showed off her work at the show opening last week and the exhibit will be up through Monday so come and check out her idiosyncratic portrait photography.

The show is a mix of self-portraits, mixed media art works, and creative environmental portraits.  It includes some of her award winning work from Scholastic, PDN Student Photo Contest, and her SCALA all-county portfolio from this earlier year.

AP Art: Welcome to Japan Society Junior Fellow

We want to welcome Saki, a visitor into our AP Art class from the Hiroshima, Japan who will be working on a project with us through the Japan Society Junior Fellow's program.  Saki will be examining the different attitudes student have in the US and Japan while she is here as well as learning about our school culture.

On Wednesday she will practice her presentation with the art honor society afters school so feel free to stop by and learn about her results.  Wednesday will also be her last day here because of the Easter break so it will also serve as her going away party!

We have been participating in this program for the past 3 years and it allows students to learn about the Japan and the US culture and education.  Students may also apply to the Japan Society for the exchange to visit Japan over the summer when schools there are still in session.

Chicago: Van Gogh's Bedrooms at The Art Institute of Chicago

I'm Back from the National Art Educators Association Conference in Chicago and I wanted to share one of the highlights which was the Van Gogh Bedrooms exhibit at The Art Institute of Chicago.  Vincent loved hie 'Yellow House' in the south of France and considered it his true home painting 3 versions of it over 2 years.  All 3 paintings were shown together along with additional paintings, drawings, and notes Vincent wrote at the time.  Take a look at the video below for a quick glimpse.



One of the most interesting aspects of the show was seeing some of the scientific analysis of the paintings and the comparison and contrast of the 3 works which seem so similar at quick glance but have interesting variations on closer inspection.

AP Art: What is Art?

Today in AP Art we are going to watch the video above and ask a question-What is Art?  Watch the video above take at the Smithsonia Museum in Washington DC and write a short response piece answering what you think art is.  Is the video maker's reaction valid why or why not?

Studio Art: 3D Paper Star

I'll be in Chicago this week to receive my NAEA AET Outstanding Art Teacher of the Year award so here is the assignment you'll be working on in class.  There will be no art honor society meeting today because I'm flying out to Illinois right after school.

I'll be leaving you in the hands of another art teacher Cassie Stephens who's become known for her quirky, fun art outfits.  You'll be creating a 3D paper, zentangle star based on the video above.  Use the video above to aid you in cutting the star then use the images below to help with the Zentangle.



Above are a few patterns that you can use but feel free to be creative and make your own.  The star looks best if you divide uo each part and use a different Zentangle design.



We are going to do the background differently so just focus on completing and coloring the star and when I return on Monday I will give you the remaining directions.

Digital Media: Augmented Reality

I gave a demonstration of Augmented Reality using the Quiver app yesterday in Digital Media class (some of which is shown above).  We will be using the new technology in class so if you have a smart phone be sure to download the free app now before we use it in class next week!

Hosting #WiArtChat tonight

Tonight I'll be hosting #WiArtChat to talk about the NAEA convention later this week as well as the continuing Youth Art Month celebrations.  Please join me, the questions are above and the chat is at 8pm EST on Twitter.

Studio Art: Arts Alive Poster Contest

In Studio Art class we are creating poster designs for the 2016 Arts Alive Poster Contest which should incorporate both aspects of Arts and Long Island.  The posters will be due on Tuesday in class but you can use any of the methods we used in class thus far to create your poster-choose your favorite projects and work from there!

Below is last years winner to give you a sense of what the expectation is.  The grand prize winner wins $300 and runners up get prizes as well!

Media Art: Interactive Animation

This week our animation challenge is to merge real life with animation and make it interactive.  The video above by Hombre McSteez Aka Marty Cooper is a great example of how it night be done using just a few plastic animation cells and some markers.  Below is another great example from street artist Blu and artist David Ellis which is equally as impressive but totally different.  The idea here is to bring your own unique creative idea to the interactivity so think about it and have it completed and posted using the hasttag #needlesclass on Vine or YouTube by Monday!

AP Art: 2016 Senior Art Show 2 Chrissy D

Today is our 2nd Senior AP Art Show and features the work of Christian D.  Come by and check out the wide variety of work ranging from photographs to drawings to 3D design.  The show will be up through Monday so be sure to check it out!

Digital Media: Meet Me in DC Contest

In Digital Media class we will be designing an issues based political poster for PBS Learning Media's 2016 Meet Me in DC Contest.  Choose an issue that our community cares about and use the online poster design tool to construct a poster.  I created an example above for our class to give an idea of what is possible.  You can upload your own images but make sure they are both original and not defamatory in any way (if you're not sure feel free to check with me).  There are some great resources on PBS Learning Media's Election Central that we'll look at to learn more about some of the issues.

The poster designs are due tomorrow in the public drive then we will share and critique them after which you'll get a chance to make changes and submit them.  The winner of the contest will receive a free trip to Washington DC along with spending money and some other great bonuses so use your design skills wisely!

AP Art: The 2016 Armory Show

Today we'll look at some of the inspiring art and creative trends from this years Armory Show in NYC.  the work above features me and is from artist Douglas Coupland for his project with Art.sy and Daniel Faria Gallery.

Digital Media: Bring Your Action Figure To Work Day

Today we have our quiz on the basics of animation and afterwards we'll collaborate on a fun, short STEAM animation.  We will work together to create a short animation celebrating 'Bring Your Action Figure To Work Day' aka #AFWD2016.  I brought in a few of my favorite action figures so we will have 20 minutes to write, film, edit, and post our film on social media to share it.  I'll post the videos below after they are complete:

Digital Media Period 3
 

 Media Art Period 6
 

Digital Media Period 7
 

Media Arts: Animation Test

In Media Arts class we are beginning the Squash and Stretch Animation Challenge will be due tomorrow and we'll review the basics of animation and Frank & Ollie's Twelve Basic Principles of Animation for our first test tomorrow.

AP Art: 2016 Senior Art Show 1 Mikenzie

Our annual AP Art Senior Art Shows began this Wednesday with Mikenzie's opening.  She's the first student from High School East who has taken AP Art for 3 years in a row and the first to take all 3 AP Art tests (Drawing, 2D, & 3D) so she has a plethora of diverse work in multiple media.  Be sure to check out the show if you haven't, it's up until Monday!

AP Art: Seuss Day

Today is Theodor Geisel's aka Dr.Seuss so we'll be celebrating Youth Art Month by creating a short video of illustrations from some of his best quotes and sharing it with art lovers around the world vis social media.

Heckscher Museum: Long Island's Best Art Entries

This year's Long Island's Best Art: Young Artists at the Heckscher Museum competition is coming up so students who viewed the art work in one of this year's shows, created a work in response, and submitted a written entry are eligible. The example above on the right is a new work by Rosalie who was also a finalist last year in AP Art in response to Garry Winogrand's photo to the left New York, 1965.(Blonde woman with wind-blown hair).  The school will submit 4 entries so the completed pieces should be framed with a completed entry form attached on the rear by Monday March 28 when they need to be dropped of by 5pm.